Love Don't Cost a Thing
by sammyxpeterson
Summary: Best friends can't fall in love? Can they? Lori's a girl who's been hiding a secret from her best friend ever since they met. She wants to tell him how she feels but, what can she say? How long can she hold it in?
1. Chapter 1

The only reason this is HSM; Lauren is Sharpay. Cade is Troy. and Emmy would be Gabriella. Got it? k.

Chapter 1;

A sigh came out of Lauren's, or Lori's, mouth as she once again sat in class daydreaming about, her dream guy, Cade Collins, also her best friend, whose suddenly had other plans then hanging out with her and Emily "Emmy" Oxley, the only girl who actually knows every secret Lori has. Cade and Emmy had been Lori's best friends ever since moving from England to California about a year ago. Both were very welcoming, and the more and more she hung out with Cade the more she fell for him. Cade never knew, of course. How could he? It'd be totally awkward and weird to just go up and tell him that she loved him, and especially if he didn't feel the same. How could they be friends after that? Lori was always on the safe side; any wrong move and she could ruin everything. The bell rang, interrupting Lauren's thoughts, and made her quickly grab her things and run out of the room to her locker. Emily was already standing there, "I see we're late for another locker meeting?" She said as Lori jabbed her books in the locker. "Come on, Lor, you can't hide this forever." Lauren looked at her, with somewhat of a sarcastic grin, "Actually, I can, and it's a choice to either tell him or not tell him. I think I'll go with the first one." Suddenly, Cade appeared behind them, "Tell who what?" He said with his palm propping himself up on the locker. Lori bit her lip before turning around and closed her eyes tightly wishing it were a dream she could just wake up from. Unfortunately it wasn't. It was reality, and yet again, she'd have to tell another lie to cover her secret up. She opened on eye slowly, then the other. As she turned around, an innocent smile went across her face. She started to play with the ends on her blonde, loosely curled hair. She had a habit of doing that when she was either lying or nervous, which luckily, Cade hadn't caught onto yet. "Oh, um, tell my dad that, his pizza casserole is gross. I mean, I don't wanna hurt his feelings, but if I ever eat another bite, I'll die of poison." Cade looked at her confused, "I thought your dad was fighting in the war." Lori's eyes widened, searching for another excuse to pop out, "Oh, um, you know he's home for rest." Cade lifted his head up and down slowly, "Ah, okay. Hey, you guys wanna go out for lunch? I hear the Boardwalk has 'Teal' playing today." The Boardwalk was the newest restaurant in Malibu, and "Teal" was Lori's absolute favorite band, if she had one. "Um, sure, meet you by the fountain in the front courtyard?" She said, in approval to his question. "Awesome. See ya, guys!" He said over his shoulder as he walked away from then "Bye Cade!" Lori and Emmy said in unison. "You have GOT to stop lying to that boy," was the last thing Emmy could say as they walked into their next class.

After the lunch bell rang, Lauren ran out to the fountain in the courtyard. Emmy and Cade came about 5 seconds after. "Ready?" She asked them. "Definitely." Emmy said, as she started to walk towards the parking lot. They got in Cade's red Ferrari and slowly drove off. Lori was sitting in the back and stared at the back of Cade's head, daydreaming, as usual. The only time she took her eyes off him was when he looked in the rearview mirror or when Emmy looked back at her. "I love you too…" She said in an 'out of it' voice. Emmy looked back at her with a weird look and hit Lauren lightly on the leg to get her to snap out of it. As soon as Lauren felt Emmy's hand on her jeans she shook her head as if she was shaking her thoughts out of her mind. "Sorry." She mouthed to Emmy, and stared out the window at the shoreline of South Malibu Beach. Her thoughts ran over her mind again, but they suddenly were interrupted by Cade's voice. "Uh, Lori, we're here." He said, leaning over the seat, looking at Lori. "Oh, uh, sorry." She said, pulling the door handle to open the door. They walked in the double, glass doors of the Boardwalk. "What's up with you? You seem totally out of it." Cade asked, looking at Lori concerned. "Oh, um, nothing." She lied, crossing her arms over her chest as if protecting herself. The waiter came and sat them down, pretty close to the stage. She looked up at the big stage with the blue lighting covering it. The band came out and everyone cheered. "Alright, this song goes out to all you couples out there." The lead singer said. _Gah, _Lori thought to herself. _Why does it always have to be couples?_ Cade looked over at her and smiled. She faked one back at him, as she rested her head on her hand and stared at the lead singer, pretending to be listening to the lyrics he was singing. But she couldn't help but doze off, yet again, to her fantasy 'Cade loves Lori' land. She couldn't focus on anything but that.

"Lori, COME ON!" Lori heard Emmy say, demanding as she felt herself being shaken. "Oh, huh?" She said looking around to find herself still in the Boardwalk. "Is it already over?" She asked, cocking her head at the now empty stage. "Um, duh." Emmy said in a 'you are so out of it' kind of voice. "Cade's waiting in the car. Come on, we're gonna be late for last period!" Lori felt Emmy's hand lock with hers and pull her out. Lori threw herself in the backseat. Cade looked back at her. "Lori, I demand you tell me what your problem is today." Lori searched her mind for yet another excuse, while he kept talking. "You seem so out of it. I mean, you said totally random things on the way over here, you did that weird hair twirly thing you do when you're nervous, and now you fall asleep when your watching your favorite band perform." _SHOOT! _Her mind screamed. _He actually noticed that I play with my hair when I'm nervous. _"How did you know what I do when I'm nervous?" Cade rolled his eyes, "Because, you suck at lying, and you're usually nervous when you're lying." Emmy sniggered. Lori shot her an evil glare, but then turned back to Cade. "I-I-…" She looked back at Emmy for reassurance. Emmy edged her to keep going. "I just have a lot on my mind." Out of the corner of her eye, Lori could she Emmy throw her hands up, half way in the air, and let out an agitated sigh. Cade looked over at Emmy and shrugged, then started to back up his car out of the parking lot, and back to school. How long could she keep this up?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2;

_BRINNNGGG!_ The bell indicating 9th, and last, period was finally over. Lori gathered her books up and walked out the classroom door. It was the first period all day that she'd at least caught one or two words the teacher had said. Otherwise, she was daydreaming. The daydreams about Cade had gone on throughout all year, but, it seemed to be getting worse by the second. "Lori, can I talk to you for a minute?" A familiar voice said, catching her off guard. Lori turned her head to find Cade standing by a few lockers. "Oh, um, sure." She walked over to him, leaning her shoulder against the cold, tan lockers. "Seriously, Lor, what _has _been up with you today?" Lori could see concern glittering in his eyes. "It's nothing, really. I just have a lot on my mind." She lied. "Like what?" This was getting harder to cover up. He apparently saw the look on her face, "Well, if you ever wanna talk, I'm here." He said starting to walk off. That was it. Lori couldn't take it. She closed her eyes tight, and took a deep breath, "Cade, wait." She said turning around, and opening her eyes. "There's something I've been hiding from you, for a while now." Her stomach cramped. Was she really doing this? "I don't know how to explain it," He walked a little closer to her, slowly. Lori could feel the deep gaze he gave her. She stalled enough to where he got near enough where there lips could meet. "I-I…" She couldn't really get the words out, so she did something she'd never do in a lifetime. She moved in a little closer and touched her lips against his. She kissed him. Thunderstruck at what she just did, her mind panicked, and she parted from him. Both were speechless. "I-" What could she say? Nothing. Instead, she did the thing any girl would do. Turn and run. Lori ran, just far enough to where he couldn't catch up. She passed Emmy, who looked rather confused, and followed her. "Lori Scott, what happened?" Lori sniffled. "I-I…" She stopped. "You…?" Emmy said, trying to get her to continue. Lori remained quite. "You what Lori!?" "I KISSED HIM!" Lori answered, somewhat yelling. An awkward silence fell between the friends, as they continued to walk home. Emmy finally spoke, "Did he kiss you back? What'd he say?" "I'm not sure, my mind was in to much of a panic to tell, and he said nothing. I think he was too weirded out to say anything." Lori wiped a tear coming from her eye. Emmy sighed. They walked home in silence.

Lori went home to find about 13 missed calls, all from Cade. He'd left voice mails. "Lori, come on, call me back." One of them said. "Why didn't you tell me?", said another. Truth was, Lori didn't want to call back. She didn't know half of what to say. Avoiding him as long as she could was the best thing she could do at the time.

Of course, she went to school the next day. Lori had to admit, it was pretty quite without him, but she could deal. Finally being able to focus a little more in class was good. The thing was, she couldn't crack one smile. Not even Emmy could do it, and that was pretty amazing. The lunch bell rang, and she scattered to meet Emmy outside. Spotting Cade made her heart jump, and she grabbed another student's magazine, and put it over her face, so he couldn't see her. When he was out of sight, Lori smiled innocently at the junior who was now giving her a look like she was crazy, and handed her back the magazine, to catch up with Emmy. They searched for an empty table. Lori spotted one over by the recently trimmed hedge and sat down. Looking around, Cade caught her eye again. He seemed to be looking for someone. Lori's heart pounded, and she slid under the table. Emmy looked confused, but then as Cade spotted Emmy and walked over, she got it. "Em, have you seen Lori?" "Oh um, she just went to the bathroom." Emmy covered for her. "Do you know why she's been avoiding me all day?" Emmy's face looked like she didn't know a thing. "No, why?" "Well…it's a long story. Could you just tell her that I've been…well, just tell her, I need to talk to her, ASAP?" Emmy nodded, and Cade walked off. When he was out of reach, Lori appeared again. "How long are you going to avoid the boy?" Emmy said giving her a glare. "As long as I can figure out the right words." "How about this? 'Cade, I love you'?" Lori let out a sarcastic laugh, "Aha, _no_." Emmy rolled her eyes, "Lori, seriously. You can't hide forever, and sooner or later I'm gonna run out of excuses to cover you." "I pick later, and you do too." Emmy let out an agitated sigh and went back to eating. This was going to be hard.

Lori walked home alone that day. She didn't even want to wait for Emmy. Although it was a little harsh it was the truth. Lori couldn't stand another word edging her to talk to Cade come out of her mouth. It was hard enough to stay away from him, it'd be harder to try and talk with him. Of course, since Lori was avoiding him, Cade had found someone else to spend his every spare minute with. Rory Bowman, one of the cheerleaders. Naturally, Cade paid no attention to the fact Lori was avoiding him anymore. It seemed like he'd forgotten the whole incident, actually. Lori didn't mind, but then again she did. After how long she waited, he just forgot it. Emmy had basically been her messenger. She'd hung out with Cade a little, just to get some information, but never did he mention the kiss. Why would he? It was Lori for Pete sake's, the girl who was supposed to be his best friend, not his girlfriend. Of course, no sooner that Rory and Cade had been seen every minute together was Emmy to tell Lori the news. "Lori…um," Emmy paused. Lori stared at her, with big eyes, trying to get her to keep going. "Rory and Cade are going out." Emmy said, quickly, thinking that if she said it fast enough, it wouldn't hurt as bad. But it did. It hurt just as bad as it would at normal speed. Lori's heart sank. "Oh," was all that could come out of her mouth. Emmy apparently saw the hurt in her eyes because she quickly went to pull her in a hug, "I'm sorry, Lor. I really am. I wish there was something I could do." Emmy tried to continue to comfort her, but Lori stopped her. "It's nothing, Em. Absolutely nothing. It was his choice. I waited too long anyways. It's my fault, not yours, not his. Mine." Lori held back the tears welling in her eyes. Emmy sighed. Lori knew Emmy wanted to help, but what she said was the truth, it was her fault, and there was nothing Emmy could do.

Cade continued to ignore both of the friends. At least Lori didn't have to hide anymore. It seemed as if Cade was too caught up with Rory he wouldn't even know Lori was there if she stood right in front of him. It was, yet again another gloomy Friday, used to, when Cade actually knew Lori existed, they'd be making their weekend plans to hang out, but of course, Cade was too busy with Rory. Lori sat there, reading _Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince_, pretending, yet again, to be invisible, but she couldn't help her eyes travel to where Rory and Cade's lips touched. She let out a sigh, and slammed her book shut, throwing her butt off the bench. She stormed back from the courtyard, into the school. It was amazing, as soon as one of the maroon double doors banged shut, she heard his voice, "Lori, wait." Cade said. Without thinking, her feet stopped in place, and she turned around. "What do you want?" She mumbled. "I need to talk to you." Lori actually thought she saw concern in his eyes, but it was quite unbelievable. "Why have you been avoiding me lately?" Anger rushed through Lori's flesh, "_Me_ avoiding _you!?_ _You're _the one doing the avoiding!" Cade looked taken aback. "I certainly have not!" "You have too! You've been so caught up with your precious Rory, you haven't even noticed me! You didn't even mind to say anything about what happened that day! Don't lie to me! You know haven't, don't even bother." Lori held back the tears, just until she got outside the front doors. Crying too hard to keep herself up, she sat down on the steps and buried her head in her hands. She finally told him how she felt. She seriously couldn't stand seeing him with her, she didn't know why but she just...couldn't. Maybe it was jealousy, maybe it wasn't, but all she knew was she couldn't take hiding it anymore. She loved him.

The bell rang signaling that lunch period was over. Lori looked in her compact mirror, to make sure her eyes weren't to noticeably red and puffy from crying. Remembering that Cade was in her next class, she suddenly felt a need of vomiting coming on. She didn't even step more than a foot inside the school before she turned around and ran toward her house. Replays of the argument her and Cade had in the hallway of their school played over and over in Lori's head, no matter how much she tried to forget it. Finally walking up the pathway to her porch, Lori sobbed. Cade and her had been friends for over 2 years, and now it was all going down the drains. She couldn't even stand the thought of it. She jammed the key in the slot and unlocked it. Storming to her room, she threw herself on the bed and started crying. "This-is-so-un-fair." She said, with every syllable her fist came down on the bed hard. She cried harder and harder every second until 3 hours had past. Lori had calm down just enough to hear the phone ring. She walked over to it, wiping her eyes, and trying to clear her nose so it sounded like she was fine. She slowly picked up the phone, seeing Cade's number on the Caller ID, she hesitated. Fighting with herself whether to answer it or not, she finally pressed the green "OK" button, and put the receiver to her ear, taking a deep breath. "Hello?" She said, shaking. "Lori?" Cade asked, making sure it was her. "Yeah?" She was trying her best not to sound upset. "Can we talk…without yelling?" "Depends." She could hear Cade take in a deep breath. "Can you just meet me at the beach in like, 5 minutes?" Lori let out a desperate sigh. "Alright." Lori hung up the phone, and ran out the door, fighting to put her Abercrombie jacket on. Sprinting, she went to the place where Cade and her had used to go to meet up sometimes. She waited for about 2 minutes, and finally saw his image walking toward her. Her heart pounded, she stopped breathing for a moment. This was it. "Lori, listen, today..." He stopped. "Earlier..." He couldn't seem to the words out. Before she knew it their lips were touching. Time stopped around them. It wasn't Lori this time it was him. They finally parted. Lori was speechless. Cade didn't look very surprised. "I love you, Lori." He said. Was she supposed to say? "You have a girlfriend..." Lori said. Her emotions were too mixed to know what she was feeling. "Not anymore." He smiled. Was this finally the day Lori's dreams would come true?


End file.
